91Èȱ¬

Lyon continued their remarkable European dominance as Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg's first-half hat-trick against Barcelona helped the French giants secure a fourth consecutive Women's Champions League title.

Victory saw England's Lucy Bronze and Wales' most-capped player Jess Fishlock get their hands on club women's football's biggest continental prize.

First-time finalists Barcelona almost led early on through Lionesses forward Toni Duggan, but after she fired narrowly wide, Lyon ruthlessly netted four times before the break.

Former Liverpool and Arsenal forward Asisat Oshoala netted a late consolation for the Catalan club in Hungary's capital Budapest but they could do nothing to stop Lyon claiming a sixth European crown in eight years.

Having secured a 13th consecutive French league title in April, the French club were playing in their eighth European final since 2010, after a 3-2 aggregate win over Chelsea in the semi-finals.

The best-funded side on the continent wrapped up the latest of their 23 major honours of this decade before half-time, largely thanks to Hegerberg's clinical treble.

The 23-year-old made history as she became the first player to net a hat-trick in a Women's Champions League final since the competition's rebranding in 2010.

The Netherlands winger Shanice Van de Sanden's pace down Lyon's right created the game's first two goals, as she crossed for Germany's Dzsenifer Marozsan for the opener and then similarly for Hegerberg.

Amel Majri then squared the ball in the area for Hegerberg's second, before Bronze's whipped right-wing cross met the striker's run perfectly to complete her 16-minute treble inside the first half hour.

The result saw Bronze - who helped Lyon win last year's final - and Fishlock both earn the second European titles of their careers, although the Wales midfielder missed 2015's final with German club Frankfurt because her loan spell from Seattle had ended.

England international Izzy Christiansen also collected a winner's medal but did not feature in the final, having broken her leg and damaged ankle ligaments in March.

Hegerberg rightly claimed the player-of-the-match plaudits in Budapest, but football fans will miss her talents at this summer's Women's World Cup in France, which begins on 7 June.

The inaugural women's Ballon d'Or winner has not been included in Norway's squad, having refused to play for the national side since 2017, as she takes a stand against what she describes as a lack of respect for female players in Norway.

But plenty of France-bound international stars impressed in the 10th final of the Women's Champions League era.

The Netherlands' Van de Sanden - who had made a devastating impact from the bench in 2018's final against Wolfsburg - provided two assists for the second European final in a row.

Her Dutch team-mate Lieke Martens had a comparatively quiet first half, but did provide an exquisite through ball to set up Barcelona's late consolation.

Martens fed Nigeria's Oshoala, who was lively after coming on as a late substitute and will be among the stars of the Super Falcons squad this summer.

Germany's majestic midfielder Marozsan and France forward Eugenie Le Sommer also combined well for Lyon, while towering France defender Wendie Renard set a new competition record with her 82nd Women's Champions League appearance.

French goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi and her team-mates Renard and Le Sommer are the only players to have won the competition six times, all with record-winners Lyon.

England and Scotland get their World Cup campaigns under way when they meet in Group D on 9 June.

91Èȱ¬ Sport has launched #ChangeTheGame this summer to showcase female athletes in a way they never have been before. Through more live women's sport available to watch across the 91Èȱ¬ this summer, complemented by our journalism, we are aiming to turn up the volume on women's sport and alter perceptions. Find out more here.